Five tied for the lead at Mason Rudolph heading into the final round
Avery Weed (Photo Courtesy of Mississippi State University)
With 18 holes remaining at the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn., five golfers are all tied for the lead at 9-under.
First-round leader Avery Weed of Mississippi State is T1, along with Sara Im of Vanderbilt, Patience Rhodes of Arizona State, Caroline Melgrati of Arizona, and Louise Reau of Georgia Southern.
Farah O'Keefe of Texas is in solo second place at 8-under, and Hannah Darling of South Carolina, Lauryn Nguyen of Northwestern, and Maylis Lamoure of South Carolina are T7 at 6-under.
Texas leads the team competition at 21-under by four shots over Georgia Southern, who are solo second place at 17-under.
Northwestern, South Carolina, and Arizona are T3 at 15-under to round out the top five.
ROUND ONE RECAP
The Mason Rudolph Women's Championship kicked off Round 1 as Vanderbilt University hosts some of the nation's top-tier women’s golf programs. The Vanderbilt Legends North course just concluded the Simmons Bank Open on the Korn Ferry tour, and organizers are using the grandstands along the 18th as the scoring tents this weekend.
In a women’s college environment with a newly instituted .500 rule where the strength of the field is all important, we’ve still seen incredible fields so far this Fall season. Last week the ANNIKA Intercollegiate hosted 7 preseason ranked top 25 teams. As the rule and gamesmanship of it settles in, it could change the scheduling in years to come. For now, we reap the rewards of a stellar field at Vanderbilt.
It was Avery Weed (Mississippi State) setting the pace with a blistering 7-under 65. Aided by 4 birdies in her last 5 holes, she owns a one-shot lead. “I made a lot of putts out there. Everything was really going good today. I made a pretty long putt on the first hole for birdie. That got me started and motivated to go low today.” said Weed. Teammate and #2 Ranked AmateurGolf.com player Julia Lopez Ramirez sits T12.
A bevy of 2024 Curtis Cup winners kept their momentum going in the Nashville metro. Starting with the Gamecocks’ Hannah Darling who came out firing in Round 1. Setting the tone with 3 birdies and an eagle on her front nine and finishing with a 67 to sit in a tie for third. South Carolina is coming off a win at the ANNIKA and teammate Louise Rydqvist backed Hannah up with a 4-under 68.
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Mississippi State and South Carolina are tied at 12-under through the first round.
Nena Wongthanavimok (Arizona) was not to be left behind. A bogey free 66 gave her the early lead in the clubhouse with a closing birdie on 18. Nena’s key to success was to “stick to the plan because the course can be pretty penalizing if you’re not in the right spots”. She went on to say patience was a big part of the game plan. Teammate Carolina Melgrati is right behind with a 4-under 68.
Patience Rhodes (Arizona State) started her weekend with a -4, 68. Patience, coming off a helping singles victory in the Curtis Cup for the GB&I, looks to continue her momentum this weekend in Franklin, TN. Curtis Cup and ASU teammate Beth Coulter aided the team with a 2-under 70.
The weather peaked in the 90’s on Friday, and is forecasted for much of the same over the next 36-holes.
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ABOUT THE
Mason Rudolph
54-hole women's college event hosted by
Vanderbilt University. Team (best four scores out of
five
players each round) and individual competitions.
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